Performance Assessment of WiMAX using Diverse FEC Schemes over Fading Channels

Diverse modern wireless broadband communication systems are based on what is called Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), which is a basic part of WiMAX. By making use of OFDM, we deal with frequency and time selectivity which are the major concerns when mobile or wireless communication is established between base and subscriber stations. WiMAX cuts the cost because it’s a wireless technology and hence there is little maintenance. Also, it provides higher data rates and has large coverage area compared to its counters parts. In this paper, we make a comparison of various channel coding techniques like convolutional codes, BCH codes, LDPC codes and RS codes over two fading channels namely Rayleigh channel and Rician channel and four modulation orders of PSK. The simulation results show that RS codes and BCH codes perform very well in all conditions whereas convolutional codes lag somewhat in their performance. In addition to this, Rician channel has a better response compared to Rayleigh channel in any modulation order or FEC codes being used in a WiMAX system.